Technology changes with time, but the fundamentals and recipes in photography remains. This article was first published in 2006, revised in 2018
Seeing beyond the obvious has always been a challenge for many amateur and professional photographers, as they go in search for that unique and creative angle. This has also brought about the term “the art of seeing”. One of the tools used in the art of seeing happens to be something that most of us take for granted in our daily lives – Reflections.
Most often than not, everyday we will pass by some reflective objects that show the daily fleeting moments in a different dimension. It can be the puddle of water on the floor, the side mirror of the motorcycle, polished black cars, the glass windows and even your sun shades. Given enough effort plus a twist of creativity and curiosity, you are sure to be able to unravel the beauty behind the reflections and capture them with your digital camera.
And the most beautiful thing about photography is you do not need a sophisticated camera to capture images of reflections. The compact camera with its Program mode is able to do the job well. But of course, the Digital SLRs provides the photographers with more options to play with, such as the higher range of ISO to minimize camera shake, wider range of aperture and the wider choice of lens to be used.
Your main problem would probably be camera shake due to shutter speed slower than 1/(focal length). In this case, you may have to consider using a higher ISO and a bigger aperture to get you a faster shutter speed to minimize camera shake.
For a start, if you are in a situation where you do not know what subjects to look out for or do not know what to shoot, you can try playing with reflections. The below shall serve as a useful guide to aid you in the search for reflections.
The ingredients for reflection:
- Establish the main subject
- A sunny day or brightly lit subject gives the best opportunities for good reflections.
- Look out for puddles of water on the floor.
- Look out for calm water, such as canal or lake.
- Look out for mirror, which can be the rear mirror of a car.
- Look out for glass.
- Look out for polished black cars.
With the above in mind, you can use this technique and tips in your quest to unravel the beauty of reflections.
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